Angie's List: Holiday Decorating

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- When it comes to decorating for the holidays we often get stuck in a rut.

Year to year, our tree goes in the same place and the same decorations are hung on our mantels.

But this year, a small budget won't keep you from creating a new holiday look.

"Finances are something we are always aware of," homeowner Amy Sailing said. "But we love our home and we love to entertain and we want it to look nice and be warm and friendly and welcoming."

If you're tired of your ornaments, host a holiday decoration swap with your friends and family.

"A great way to have a new look for the holidays is actually to get together with your friends," Angie's List founder Angie Hicks said. "Because you probably each have an old box of ornaments that you don't really like anymore. What is old to you is new to someone else. So, you could swap and give your houses a completely different look."

Bringing in an interior designer, if only for a consultation, is also a great way to get ideas you can use to create a new holiday look inside your home for less.

"Nature; we are going to use pine cones, greenery, berries and things that won't break the budget," Interior designer Karen Mercer said.

It's possible to make a $2 vase and candle stick look like a very pretty apothecary jar.

Once you put the greenery around, it still looks very nice.

If you need help decorating the outside of your house with lights, landscapers, roofers and handymen are able to come hang your lights and then take them down at the end of the holiday season.

"If you are going to hire someone to hang the lights outside of your house, be sure that you are paying for it based on the job done," Hicks said. "So, pay to have the lights hung and then pay separately to have the lights taken down. Sometimes, we've heard stories where people have paid everything upfront and they never showed up to take the lights down."

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